Mother's 'health at risk' due to condition of her rodent-infested housing group property in Weedon

A mother has seen her health deteriorate as a result of a mice infestation in her Weedon home which she claims her housing group has failed to deal with.

Both her GP and a Northampton General Hospital doctor have this year contacted Optivo - formerly Viridian Housing - citing the patient's terrible living conditions.

The house smells like a rabbit hutch

The woman, who lives with her teenage daughter, said the house smells like a rabbit hutch, described mice crawling over her at night and said she can hear the rodents rummaging around in the loft.

“When I got admitted to hospital last month they said ‘you can’t live in this house’," said the woman, who does not want to be named.

“They rang the housing association that day to tell them to do something about it.”

A month later, on October 16, Optivo paid a visit to the Kings Park property along with a pest control team who have laid poison traps.

The woman said she lost an entire wardrobe of clothes as a result of the infestation

At the start of the year, the woman's GP also contacted the housing group via a letter in which they expressed how appaled they were.

The infestation has worsened her health because the mother, who uses a breathing apparatus to help with her chronic asthma, has had to sleep with windows open at night as a result of the smell, and the cold air has affected her breathing.

A spokesperson for Optivo said: “We have conducted a thorough inspection with pest control and we are working to resolve the issue within the next few days.

“Pest control will continue to monitor the property indefinitely on a weekly basis.

“We will carry out our own internal investigation to ascertain how the situation escalated and how we can ensure this doesn’t happen again.

“In the interim, we have offered [the woman] alternative accommodation in the area. We appreciate this is a highly distressing situation and will offer any support we can.”

At one point she was moved into temporary accommodation while Optivo attempted to sort out the infestation by filling holes and boarding up the loft, but she said the work was not completed hence why the rodent problem persisted.

She claims to have lost thousands of pounds worth of items including her entire wardrobe and household appliances as a result of the animals defecating all over the home and nibbling on wiring. She has also had to have carpets replaced.

When asked why she did not seek alternative living arrangements the woman said Optivo did not have properties available. Her preference is to live in a village rather than a town like Daventry because of her daughter's behavioural disorder.